


Here For The Conversations

by kiyala



Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-18
Updated: 2015-04-18
Packaged: 2018-03-23 12:40:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3768937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiyala/pseuds/kiyala
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aichi works at a café and Kai is a regular customer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Here For The Conversations

It's a quarter to eight on a Monday morning and Aichi really doesn't want to be awake. He's already had two cups of coffee but his eyelids feel just as heavy as ever and he doesn't think that's going to change any time soon.

He does a good job of hiding it though, which is the important thing. Coffee Capital is busy with the usual morning rush and he does his best to keep up with the orders that Misaki writes out on coffee cup lids and slides over to him, while Shin takes care of the food orders.

Aichi's favourite thing about Coffee Capital is just how friendly their customers are. They chat with him as he makes their coffee and it helps to wake him up just that little bit more. They tell him about their weekends, their families, how work is going, and he has a good enough memory that he can keep track of most of them. He's told that it's one of the reasons his customers are so fond of him, but he only ever laughs that off.

"Large skim mocha."

Aichi's head snaps up when he hears the order, his rhythm thrown completely off as his stomach fills with butterflies. Kai stands there, watching Aichi with his piercing green eyes as he does every morning. Aichi clears his throat, picking up his milk jug again, suddenly feeling completely awake.

"Good morning, Kai," he greets, smiling brightly even though he doesn't receive a reply. "How was your weekend? I hope it was relaxing. I had to spend most of it working on assignments for class but at least they're out of the way now so I can relax next weekend, right? Except there will probably be more work to do then. What can you do, I guess?" 

Kai continues to stand there silently and Aichi clears his throat again, putting the lid on the coffee cup and handing it over. "Anyway—here's your coffee. Have a good day!"

Picking it up, Kai looks at Aichi and nods. "Thank you."

Aichi watches him leave, heart pounding. His face feels warm and he looks down at the counter, at the next order that is waiting to be made.

"Aichi…" Misaki says quietly, giving him a knowing look.

He smiles at her, shaking his head, and gets back to work as his next customer tells him about her weekend.

His crush on Kai isn't subtle at all and Aichi knows it. He can't help it and he doesn't really know what to do about it. Kai comes in every morning, always at a different time, Aichi babbles at him and Kai leaves with a _thank you_. Hardly a reason to have a crush and if anything, Kai's lack of a response should be enough of a hint, but Aichi likes him anyway.

He supposes that at the very least, Kai seems to be unresponsive no matter who talks to him. At least it's not just Aichi.

"Aichi," Shin says with a bright smile, once the rush has died down and they have a few precious moments of peace. "Maybe next time your friend comes in, you can give him a muffin!"

"If we just give away food, we're not going to make any money," Misaki replies, frowning at their manager.

"Ah well if it's just once in a while, then it shouldn't be too bad. Don't you think, Aichi?"

"Um. I… think so…?" Aichi blinks, looking between Shin and Misaki.

"He's a regular customer anyway," Misaki says, shrugging, and that seems to be the end of the matter.

The morning rush picks up once again soon enough, and Aichi spends the rest of his shift wondering what kind of muffins Kai would like.

—«·»—

"Good morning, Kai," Aichi greets him the next morning. "Do you like apple and cinnamon muffins?"

Kai blinks at him. "What?"

"Apple and cinnamon muffins," Aichi repeats, indicating the display just beside him. "You can have one, if you like. For free."

Kai gives Aichi a long, considering look. "Do you like them?"

"Yes." Aichi ducks his head in an effort to hide his embarrassed smile. "Apple and cinnamon is my favourite."

"Okay. I'll have one."

Aichi smiles, finishing Kai's coffee and putting the muffin into a paper bag. "Have a good day. I hope you like the muffin."

Kai nods, and Aichi might just be optimistic but he thinks he sees a hint of a smile at the corners of Kai's lips. "Thank you."

"He actually spoke," Misaki comments, once Kai's walked away, and Aichi can barely hear her over the blood pounding in his ears. "I didn't think he could say anything but _thank you_."

Aichi laughs quietly, because he feels like he's about to burst. Shin gives him a thumbs up from the other end of the counter.

He spends the rest of the day in an incredibly good mood and can't quite get the smile off his face. Misaki and Shin both notice, but they're kind enough not to mention it, or the very obvious reason behind it.

His regular customers, on the other hand, mention in throughout the day. Morikawa and Izaki drop by for lunch and point out that Aichi has been smiling the entire forty-five minutes they've been sitting down for. Emi visits him on his lunch break and mentions it too, asking if anything's wrong.

"Nothing's wrong at all," Aichi replies, shaking his head. "I'm allowed to have a good day, aren't I?"

Emi hums, not entirely convinced, but doesn't push any further. She gives Aichi a scrutinising look before she leaves, but he simply waves her off.

Later in the afternoon, Aichi is wiping down the tables when Miwa walks in.

"Hey, Aichi! You're looking happy today." 

Miwa has a knowing look on his face and Aichi has to fight not to blush. Miwa spends a lot of time with Kai and even though they don't come into the café together very often, Aichi is certain that Miwa is aware of his crush.

"It's a good thing!" Miwa assures him, laughing. "I mean, it definitely makes things easier for people around you, right? Trust me. Incidentally, Kai seems to be in a pretty good mood today too."

Aichi looks up. "Kai?"

"He nearly smiled at me this morning." Miwa winks. "Something good must have happened to him, huh?"

"Um." Aichi feels that if he blushes any harder, he'll start to resemble a tomato. "I'm glad that Kai is having a good day. So, would you like some coffee?"

"Mocha, please," Miwa replies, waving at Misaki as she comes out of the break room. "And I want to try one of those apple and cinnamon muffins too."

It's not until after Miwa has left that Aichi realises Kai must have told him about the muffin, and what flavour it was. He's been trying not to hope that Kai's good mood has to do with the muffin and he covers his cheeks with his hands, unsurprised to find that they're already warm.

"I'm going on my break," he tells Misaki, retreating to the back where he can blush in peace.

–«·»—

"Large skim mocha," Kai orders as always the next morning, then pauses. He glances over as Aichi looks up. "And an apple and cinnamon muffin."

Aichi smiles and Kai looks away, shuffling over to wait for his coffee.

"So you liked the muffin yesterday? I'm glad. I could give you another flavour of muffin to try today if you want—"

"It's fine," Kai interrupts. "I want this one."

Aichi falls silent, nodding in reply.

"I can see why it's your favourite," Kai ventures after a brief silence.

"They taste even better when they're warm," Aichi replies, looking around for Shin only to find that he's already warmed one up and is bringing it over now. "Here you go. I hope you have a good day."

"Thank you." Kai reaches for the paper bag and they both startle when Kai's fingers close around Aichi's. In his surprise, Aichi nearly drops the bag, but Kai's fingers tighten around his. 

They stare at each other for a moment before Kai gently pulls the bag from Aichi's fingers. "You should be more careful."

"Right." Aichi smiles at Kai even though he just wants the ground to open up and swallow him whole. "Sorry. It won't happen again."

Kai takes a step away from the counter before pausing and looking back. "Have a good day."

Aichi watches him leave, at a loss for words. Misaki clears her throat, pushing the next few coffee cup lids over for Aichi to start on. Shaking his head, Aichi apologises under his breath and turns his attention back to the coffee machine in front of him.

"Are you okay?" Misaki asks him quietly.

"No! I mean—yes. I'm fine. Absolutely fine."

She hums, unconvinced. Aichi feels his face heat with embarrassment, but he still can't stop smiling. It doesn't go away for the rest of the day either. If Aichi was in a good mood yesterday, it's nothing compared to today. He feels like he's walking on air, and every time he thinks of the way Kai's fingers felt against his own, he needs to cover his face with his hands so he can grin into them.

He's in the middle of doing exactly that, late in the afternoon, when he hears people walking into the café.

"Welcome!" Aichi says, looking up, then immediately freezes up when he sees that it's Miwa with Kai trailing behind him, looking away.

"Hey, Aichi!" Miwa greets with a smile. "This guy can't sit still today, so we decided to go for a walk."

"Would you like some coffee?" Aichi asks, then looks at Kai. "Or maybe a muffin?"

Kai shakes his head without a word and Miwa laughs quietly, pulling his wallet out.

"I'll have a coffee, actually. I think I'll have…" Miwa glances over his shoulder at Kai with a grin. "I'll have what Kai orders in the morning."

"One large skim mocha it is," Aichi nods, reaching for the milk.

"What? Skim?" Miwa looks at Kai again, laughing this time. "You're a sneaky bastard."

"And you never even noticed," Kai replies, shrugging. "I'm honestly surprised that it took you this long, and for Aichi to tell you."

"What?" Aichi asks, blinking. "I feel like I'm missing something."

"I would definitely say so," Miwa says cheerfully. "Just because this guy doesn't know how to communicate."

"Miwa," Kai speaks up, frowning.

"Kai doesn't even drink coffee," Miwa tells Aichi in a stage whisper. "Not real coffee anyway. He insists on sticking with instant coffee."

"What?" Aichi frowns. "He doesn't drink coffee? But then…"

"I get Miwa's coffee in the morning," Kai explains, not looking Aichi in the eyes even as he walks closer to the counter. "Because he's too lazy to get it himself."

"Actually," Miwa replies, "I'm pretty sure I recall someone _offering_ to get my coffee one morning and then deciding he was going to do my morning coffee run for me every day." 

"Really?" Aichi looks at Kai. "That's nice of you to get coffee for Miwa."

With a heavy sigh, Kai glances over at Miwa. Aichi can't help but feel that he's said something wrong. 

Miwa laughs softly. "I guess it is, if not for the fact that he was getting me skim milk, but I think the point here is _why_ Kai keeps coming here. I know the lines here in the morning can get pretty long. "

"That's true," Aichi nods. "You go out of your way every morning just to get coffee for Miwa."

"I don't do it for Miwa's sake," Kai mutters. 

"Oh." Aichi looks down at the coffee cup as he pours milk into it, puzzling over what Kai could mean.

Kai sighs loudly again and Miwa laughs softly.

"You might just have to tell him yourself, you know. It's too late to back out now."

"Aichi," Kai says, and it makes him freeze and look up. Kai is frowning at him, but he doesn't look annoyed. "I don't come here for the coffee. I come here for you."

"For… me?" Aichi's eyes go wide. 

"Aichi, I…" Kai begins, but then falls silent as Misaki walks out of the break room and sees them.

"You should go on your break soon," she tells him, giving Kai a considering look before adding, "I don't mind if you sit out here at one of the tables instead of going into the break room."

"I'll keep Misaki company," Miwa decides, as Aichi hands him his coffee. "Take your time, Kai."

Aichi doesn't move away from the coffee machine just yet, still looking at Kai. "So you've never tasted any of the coffees I've made in the morning?" 

Kai shrugs. "As I said, I've been getting them for Miwa. I just stick to instant coffee."

"Does that mean you've never tried it?" Aichi asks. "Can I make you a coffee, Kai? Just once." 

Looking away, Kai nods. "I'll have whatever Miwa usually does."

Aichi makes Kai's coffee, then another for himself, carrying them around the counter and over to one of the tables. Kai follows him, sitting down opposite to him. Their fingers brush against each other as Kai takes his coffee cup from Aichi but it feels deliberate this time, different to the way it did in the morning. 

"You're cheerful every morning," Kai murmurs, looking down at his coffee cup. "You make a conscious effort to brighten up people's days. It's nice to see."

"I like seeing you in the mornings too," Aichi replies with a small smile. "I look forward to it."

Kai smiles, and Aichi is pretty sure that he stops breathing. "I look forward to it too."

"Well, go on and try your coffee," Aichi tells him. "I want to know if you like it."

Sipping at it, Kai hums in thought. "It's nice."

"Really?" Aichi beams. "You like my coffee?"

"You thought I liked your coffee before," Kai points out. "I don't see how this really makes a difference."

"It does," Aichi insists, bringing a hand to his mouth to cover his smile. Kai reaches across the table, taking it by the wrist and pulling it back down. This barely even feels like it's real and Aichi has no idea how he's ever going to come back down to earth after this, but then Kai lets go of his wrist to hold his hand instead.

Aichi doesn't think he's ever going to get the smile of his face but he doesn't mind at all, because Kai is smiling right back at him.


End file.
